HBD, Hoot!

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear mr. hooooooo-ooot.  happy birthday to YOU {and me}!

image via

trying not to be emo over here- i mean, it's just a blog, for george's sake.  let's not get too carried away.   that being said, bear with me as i thank some muy importante peeps . . . like YOU.

a year ago i launched lil hoot.  it's still pretty small potatoes {maybe always will be} but what isn't small at all is the overwhelming amount of encouragement i feel from my readers, friends, family, and colleagues {such a foncy word}.  

i am forever grateful for my cheerleaders {you know who you are} 

and also the relationships i've made because of my lil biz.  it's been such big fun to conspire with such serious talent - wor-ship all of these ladies who are so. darn. good. at what they do.

paiges of style

jayme marie designs

chocolate creative design

sugar on top

pickwick baking co.

no. 8 photography

white loft studio

life in graz

meg caswell

in a {party/blog} world where competition and pettiness can prevail- you gals have managed to support and inspire in ways i don't even think you realize and it is truly appreciated.

you rock.

and now please excuse my open love letter to ms. meredith nelson.

dear meredith, 

you have given me and mr. hoot a gift like no other : your bananas documentation of my parties with heart . . . and for that, my gratitude measures beyond words.

but i have to say our friendship is really the wind beneath lil hoot's wings.

thank you for always showing up with a smile - even when i ask you to pick up ginormous balloons on your way to shoot a party, or walk in to find a very "unfinished" party scene {ahum, sprinkle. . .}

you are the real deal, sister.  and that, my friend, is worth celebrating every day.

love,

me

totes creepster, right?  hey CBC, i promise i'm not leaving you for meredith . . . yet. ha.  seriously tho, she's legit. {but no one compares to CBC.  i really like you, a lot, hunny.}

okay, i'm babbling so i'll leave you all with this.

ahhhh-maze-balz.

i'm off to walk my dogs.

happy weekend!

and P.S. i love you. {okay, i'll try to refrain from overly corny blog posts for another year, but that's highly unlikely}

ooxx

vivi "the peanut"'s 1st birthday

sooo, it was almost a year ago that i was swooning over bebe vivi's glorious nursery on fabulous blog laybabylay.  joni lay has impeccable taste and i worship her style.

i even bought vivi's rug for LHH {lil hoot headquarters}

we have a very important first birthday coming up in these parts . . .my fifth baby, lil hoot, is turning one this week. . .so cray cray!

i'd like to kick off the celebration by sharing vivi's 1st birthday party. 

j'adore that there was no hokey theme, but the adorbs "peanut" herself.   

they truly celebrated her first year of life in the best way possible. . . 

with vivi's fave foods, family, and glorious paper goods {mustn't forget those.}

hey, lay fam- you nailed it!

what a lucky lucky peanut.

thank you for letting me share your real life party with heart!

and everyone run don't walk to see all the glorious deets {and soooo much more eye-candy} on laybabylay.

gloriousness on the sho'

i want this adorbs beach house.
lil hoot colors abound and i think it's just. . .well, perfection.
{ so much so that i don't even mind that it is in the jerse}

gorge.

love-love this entry way.

riggins.  here. now.

adorbs bunks. and the katie ridder wallpaper?  i mean, i. die.  

too bad the view sucks.  ha!

and here's where i'll be retiring every evening, please, thank you.  the floors?  ummm, wor-ship.

check out all the glorious deets of mona ross berman's redonk house in house beautiful.

hey mona, how much you want for this beauty?

i've got two french bulldogs with your name on 'em. {kidding!  sort of. . . }

miami post-super bowl monday {and mr. quiggly}

sorry for the late post, monday blues are pretty severe in these parts.

  

CBC's birthday was yesterday - his team lost and he's a sad little munky.  wompwomp.
it's true i find his obsession with football beyond annoying at times,  but i'm so happy he was born {obvs}.  i hate to see him sad but i'm sure he's extremely comforted that no matter if the pats have another championship under their belts or not, he still has me.  i'm like his own personal giselle {except without the annoying accent. . . or super model appearance or hefty paycheck.  hmph.}

anyhoot, let's buy me this dress for my mee-ah-me trip to lift everyone's spirits, shall we?

love-love or not so much?

and a special shout-out to my other fave aquarian {whom we just so hoppen to be celebrating in miami} HBD, SJW.  lovies!

and omg, omg, omg - i simply canNOT wait until frenchie friday to recap the best. super bowl. ad. evah.

wor-ship you, mr. quiggly.

frenchie friday: jammies

okay so which higher up at gap,inc. has a french bulldog {or two}?  they have been producing some fabulous frenchie threads lately and are back in my good graces.

owl take two of these, please.

{obvs}

happy weekend!

and local peeps- if you haven't bought tix to the queen of hearts ball do so here!

GDRs {groundhog day resolutions}

so phil saw his shadow this am. . . 6 more weeks of winter.  since our winter is averaging about 47 degrees, i'm not too bent out of shape about this.

but the "holiday" has me thinking about the movie groundhog day and how sometimes my life truly feels like the same ol' thing . . . every. day. 

so i started to ponder what i could do to make the routine a little brighter than the majority of phil conners' stay in punxsutawney.

i preset to you: my GDRs {groundhog day resolutions}

1. for starters, it would be great to get these kids out. of. diapers.  i mean my quality of life would sky-rocket if it didn't involve changing dirty diapers.  

foul.  

we bought this today.  i'm hoping C & P  have respect for the classics. 

{btw, i will never ever mention potty training again on this blog.  i hate myself for doing it but i have to be honest about my GDRs}

2.  i know i'd be the happiest me if i could make it to bikram yoga daily.  that is not going to happen at this stage of my life but if i can make it there once or twice a week, it will totes make a difference.  i just went back after a 5 year hiatus and i'm loving to hate it.  

best.  torture.  evah.

3.  i've mentioned this before, but i'd really like to have fresh flowers in my house every week.  not a big expense with a huge return.

4.  i need to walk george & looloo more.  being the cray cray dog lady that i am, this is one of my greatest joys and i just don't make it happen enough.

{preferably on nantucket like this picture.  ha}

5.  and i must write in my one line a day journal.  i bought it before the start of 2011 and i am loving reading what i was up to on the day exactly one year prior.  you have to get this!  everyone can make time for one freaking line a day, right?  

it helps me realize that i'm not stuck in groundhog day at all.  

although the differences don't seem huge from day to day, my lil munkies are growing and changing right before my eyes,  new friendships are blossoming,  old friendships are deepening,  my marriage is maturing, my business is challenging me, life is happening people! {no matter how many episodes of dora i have on a day}

 . . .  hmmm. . . deep thoughts by lil hoot on a gloomy thursday afternoon.

happy groundhog day, everyone.  do you have any GDRs?

"crack" dip

is it too early in the morning to think about clogging your arteries?  nahhh.

my all around hilare gal-friend HB has been gracing us with her "crack" dip for a few months now. we just keep thinking of new reasons to get together so HB will whip up this sinful concoction. {courtesy of none other than the diabetic queen herself, paula deen}

finally a totes appropes event is on the horizon - super bowl sunday!

we happen to be hosting a soiree this year in honor of my hub's very wise and sound decision not to go to the actual super bowl.  it's also his birthday.  {happy birthday, CBC, i really like you a lot.}

this will not be a lil hoot production, more like an opp for CBC to show off his love children from his affair with the big green egg, and for "crack" dip.  obvs.

if you are hosting a party on sunday or a guest - do everyone a favor and provide this dip.
{btw, i am an artichoke dip connoisseur- have literally tried and devoured hundreds of them, this one dominates.}

warning: these ingredients are not for the faint of heart.  if you plan on simply enjoying the dip and not making it, you might want to stop reading. {i mean what do you expect people?  crack is whack.}

Three Cheese Hot Artichoke DipRecipes courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounces) block cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (14 ounces) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• Dash hot sauce
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand held electric mixer until smooth. Then beat in the mayonnaise until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until combined. Transfer the dip to a pie plate or shallow gratin dish. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the dip is bubbling. Serve hot with crackers, tortilla chips, crostini or veggies.

yes, i realize taking a hit of the crack dip this weekend will set me back from my herve goal - but it will be worth it.